I'll Be Home
by parisindy
Summary: First annual DBD Partnership Christmas drabble. Harper wants to celebrate Christmas on Seefra but the party forgets to show up.


**First annual DBD Partnership Christmas drabble**

TITLE: **I'll Be Home**

AUTHORS: **AKAJipster and Parisindy**

RATING: PG

DISCLAIMER: No money was received or exchanged.

We do not own Andromeda or any of its Characters.

This is purely for fun and cake.

ARCHIVE: only MW can archive it anyone else has to ask first, and say Jipster is the best 2000 times whilst hopping.

SUMMARY: A Chrimbo coughChristmascough drabble :D

NOTES: Merry Christmas to the H20's!!! This is our present to you; the past is in the post.

**I'll be Home**

"I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my Dreams"

- Ancient Earth Folk Tune, Seasonal

* * *

Harper, played with the wax dripping down the side of the candle, and he hissed as it suddenly burned the tip of his finger. Sitting by himself at a table in his bar, Seefra-1 had never felt so far from home.

"Tell me again what we're doing," questioned Doyle who stood nearby, as she observed Harper frantically waving his hand in the air trying to cool it.

Harper's eyes looked up at her, but his head hardly moved as he frowned. He had been on this planet for three years, three freaking years, and this was the first time he had felt like celebrating Christmas. Looking at Doyle now however and after the day he had had, it was obvious that the whole idea had been a big mistake.

Harper then sighed and with little enthusiasm he attempted again to explain. "It's Christmas, Doyle. You decorate trees and you celebrate good times."

For the best part of a week Harper had practically dragged Doyle on a personal quest, searching for things that in Harper's mind could be used for Christmas decorations. It hadn't been easy, and had involved a lot of explanation and still Doyle appeared not to understand, and it didn't help that bright and shiny things were not readily available in this neck of the woods. Harper inwardly sighed, he thought it had been difficult during his time on Earth but Boston was positively shiny in comparison.

His latest bout of depression had been caused by the hassle that had been involved in not only finding a tree, but then having to haul said tree across the deserts of Seefra-1. There were times that Harper was grateful for Doyle's superior physical abilities. By the time they had managed to set the tree up in the bar most of the leaves had been ripped off, and it now looked like an oversized twig sat in the corner of the bar.

Currently Doyle stood looking at the tree with a questioning gaze. "It doesn't look right."

"You didn't even know what Christmas was like a week ago. How can you say it doesn't look right?" Harper asked with strained amusement.

Doyle looked at him slightly irritated. "Shesh, grumpy."

"I'm not grumpy," He growled, and crossed his arms defensively as he remained sitting at the table, attempting to look satisfied with the result and trying not to think that the tree looked more like a glorified stick in a bucket.

"Yeah, right," Doyle responded, and touched one of the small green leaves, then watched as the leaf immediately withered and fell from the tree. "I think it's dying?"

"Yeah, well that's what happens when you cut something off at the roots, drag it half way across the universe and dump it in some piece of crap tin can where it doesn't belong!" Harper stressed.

Doyle walked over to where Harper was sitting. "Are we still talking about the tree?" She observed, and then pulled out a chair.

Harper looked up as Doyle sat down, and counted four empty chairs. He failed to respond.

"You know I thought this was supposed to be a party?" Doyle forged on brightly, obviously trying to lighten his mood.

"Um, well there are only two of us. I don't know if two counts as a party, unless...." Harper raised his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"Gads Harper, your incorrigible."

He laughed lightly for the first time that night, and Doyle had always preferred the happy Harper.

"So tell me about this...Christmas thing," Doyle tried again, hoping to bring back the infectious enthusiasm Harper had had previously when telling her of Christmas.

"I already have," Harper dismissed, slipping back into his self depression rapidly.

"Not really, I mean a fat guy, and a chimney?" Doyle questioned. "I find it hard to believe that a holiday is based around that."

Harper laughed once more, lightening up slightly in Doyle's confusion. "Well, there is more to it then that."

"Tell me." She wheedled, and noticeably made herself more comfortable to encourage Harper to talk, giving him her full-undivided attention.

Doyle's actions didn't go unnoticed, and Harper felt like he should start reciting 'The Night before Christmas' like his mama used to when he was a kid, but he wasn't sure where to truly start for Doyle, who had no point of reference to begin with. It was kind of hard to start explaining something so big, with so many details, some of which even he hardly knew for sure.

"Well, it started as a religious holiday at least that's what Rev Bem told me once, maybe I should have listened and stopped celebrating," Harper frowned, before smiling at a distance memory. "There was a baby I think," he then added seriously, nearly under his breath as he tried to remember.

"That's the furry guy you've talked about?"

"Yeah, that him, er, Rev Bem I mean, not the baby," Harper quickly added realising the potential for a misunderstanding. "So anyway, this baby was supposed to be a king or something."

"And, he grew up to be a fat guy that crawls around in peoples' chimneys?" Doyle interjected.

"No, I don't think so," Harper responded, almost as confused as Doyle. It had been a long time since he had heard all the stories relating to the event, he was only ever good at celebrating it.

"I thought you did this all the time?"

"No, only once a year," Harper answered, and then offered an embarrassed smile. "I guess I'm not really qualified to bring Christmas to Seefra, am I?" he said sadly as he got to his feet. "It was a stupid idea to even try, it's a good job no one else has turned up," he glanced around and then sighed, collecting his empty glass and walking back to the bar, as Doyle looked on.

"They'll come, Harper," replied Doyle but she didn't sound convinced herself.

"I've waited for three years Doyle. I don't know if I can wait any longer," He snipped.

"It's just a party."

"No, it's not." Harper waved his arms dramatically. "This is supposed to mean something more!"

"They'll come," Doyle said with more conviction.

Harper snorted, and was about to turn away when he heard a noise at the door and glanced over to see the door fly open, and the cool night air breezed in blowing out some of the candles.

"Santa!" Doyle cheered happily as Rhade staggered in with an armload of presents. He was quickly followed by the others, and suddenly the bar felt like a happier place.

"Hardly," replied Rhade dryly, as he dropped the boxes unceremoniously on the floor. "Where's the eggnog?"

Beka was next and she tromped right over to where Harper was standing. "Sorry we're late." She punched him on the shoulder jovially. "I couldn't find my stereo." She placed the small box on Harper's Bar and festive music soon filled the room.

Dylan grabbed Harper's hand stuffing a small green twig in to it. Harper looked at it blankly. Frankly he was stunned by the current turn of events. "Mistletoe," Dylan nudged him with a wink before moving away to take in what Harper had done to decorate the bar.

"Harper, where's the food?" Shouted Rhade.

Trance and Doyle now stood by the Tree. "It doesn't look right," commented Trance.

"That's what I said," replied Doyle turning to glare at Harper.

Beka poked Harper. "You okay."

He broke out of his daze slightly and smiled up at her. "I didn't think you would come, I was beginning to think this was a stupid idea."

Beka slung her arm across his shoulder. "Sometimes it takes us a while, but we always show up eventually, right?"

He laughed in spite of himself, three years was a long time to wait, why was he worried about a few minutes?

"Harper, look," Beka gestured to the tree, although Harper seemed reluctant at first to look, fearing ridicule but he was pleasantly surprised. Trance had her hand out and was blowing lightly into the air. A tiny ball of light started to grow, and then lightly fluttered up towards the top of the tree, as it did new leaves started to sprout and grow, as if it had been given a second chance at life.

"That's it! That's what was missing." Doyle was practically beaming herself now, and she looked at Harper with joy.

"Much better," affirmed Trance, as she wiped her hands playfully on the edge of her shirt.

Harper stared on at the scene with disbelief, then in turn at his friends and was met with only smiles. With renewed energy and enthusiasm Harper jumped over the bar and retrieved his best bottles, and found enough glasses for everyone, even Doyle who couldn't drink, he didn't want anyone to feel left out.

Rhade was the first to join him, quickly followed by the others on hearing the glasses clink together. With the captive audience before him, Harper grinned and poured drinks into all the glasses bar one, and with a smile he raised his own glass.

"Merry Christmas," Harper declared triumphantly, whilst the others took their own glasses and raised them with him. "And may we soon return to our own crappy universe so that we can celebrate Christmas in the usual tacky, if joyful manner, all I ask is that you don't ask what I substituted for turkey," he added with a wicked smile.

"Suddenly I'm no longer hungry," Rhade joked, and the others laughed around him, filling the bar with a happy atmosphere that Harper now embraced, and he realized that after everything that had gone through to make this happen, somehow he had made it home for Christmas after all.

The End


End file.
